Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%..

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%.

Joshua Bunting, the fifth-generation president of Bunting Architectural Metals, speaks at a news conference Thursday announcing his firm’s purchasing of the Bruce Commerce Park with plans to open a new aluminum extrusion plant.

The Bruce Commerce Park on Cass Street is being purchased by Bunting Architectural Metals.

Joshua Bunting, the fifth-generation president of Bunting Architectural Metals, speaks at a news conference Thursday announcing his firm’s purchasing of the Bruce Commerce Park with plans to open a new aluminum extrusion plant.

For Joshua Bunting, the decision to make a multi-million investment in Shenango Township and open a new aluminum extrusion plant came down to two key factors.

First, Bunting Architectural Metals needed a long building. Enter the Bruce Commerce Park at 930 Cass St. — across from Cascade Park — which measures about 750 feet long.

Secondly, it needed somewhere close to the existing Bunting plant in Verona, just east of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River.

“This area has a really deep knowledge of the aluminum production,” Bunting said after a news conference Thursday afternoon inside the facility. “That was a really big factor. We’re from Pennsylvania, not Ohio. That matters. We could go into Ohio, but they have some regulatory things.”

The Bruce Commerce Park on Cass Street is being purchased by Bunting Architectural Metals.

Thursday’s event officially announced the Bunting’s purchase of the commerce park and its approximately 365,000 square feet of space. Bunting was approved for a $2.1 million loan from the state for the transaction, after which former owner Bruce & Merrilees will stay on as a tenant in the 100-year-old structure. About six other companies have operations out of the facility.

Additional financing of the purchase will be provided by First National Bank and the Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation approved a $675,000 loan.

In total, the company plans to create around 80 new jobs paying 33 percent higher than the average local per capita income and make a $17 million investment, state Acting Secretary of Community and Economic Development Neil Weaver said.

Aluminum extrusion, as Bunting described, works like a Play-Doh machine by using a mold and make the aluminum fit to specifics.

“We have a lot of work to do here, but the history of this building is a steel foundry,” said Bunting, the fifth-generation president of the 153-year-old company. “While we’re doing aluminum, the layout and the structure is really ideal for what we need to do. The workforce here has the right roots for it, the right vocational training. We’re really excited about it.”

First though, he’ll need to add some walls and a roof to the building, adding that people should see a difference in about 12 to 14 months. The company plans to have the plant running by early 2024.

The company worked with Lawrence County, Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority and the Governor’s Action Team — experienced economic development professionals who report directly to Gov. Tom Wolf and work with businesses considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania. Bunting credited Linda Nitch, Lawrence County’s director of economic development.

“Linda Nitch is a phenomenal ambassador,” Bunting said. “She actually had a material role in the decision. She bent over backwards to help us go through some of the hurdles that are involved in any of this kind of stuff.”

Weaver said the governor’s team in Harrisburg worked extensively to make sure New Castle was the right fit for the company.

“At the state level, we are doing everything we can to support investments into New Castle,” Weaver said, noting the county regularly produces workers in trained vocations at Westminster College, the New Castle School of Trades, West Central Job Partnership and the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center.

“The biggest need now for manufacturing is workforce.”

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